St. Joseph’s Basilica ready to celebrate parish’s centennial
Four years before Mr. and Mrs. Gretzky took their first matrimonial steps there, a Jasper Avenue landmark was the site of a prayer service led by a Cold War hero and future saint.
Edmonton Catholics will trace the storied history of St. Joseph’s Basilica Saturday night, when the historic Gothic basilica on Jasper Avenue and 113th Street will celebrate the parish’s centennial, said business manager Joanne Hirsch.
Construction of St. Joseph’s Cathedral began in 1924 on the site of a former slough. An earlier attempt to build a central church for Edmonton’s burgeoning Catholic population had been thwarted by the First World War. The Great Depression and Second World War would delay its completion for nearly four decades. The basement area known as “the crypt” was completed in 1925.
In 1960, a fundraising campaign helped pay for a new superstructure design created by Montreal architect Henri Labelle. Engineers buttressed the existing building’s crumbling foundation, and the Tyndall stone-lined edifice was finally opened on May 1, 1963.
Because it was open 24 hours a day, the cathedral was known as “the church with no locks” until February 1980, when an arsonist started a fire on the altar, destroying a crucifix created in an Edmonton garage by an Italian artist.
In June 1984, church officials designated St. Joseph’s Cathedral a “minor basilica,” a special distinction given to only one other Canadian church.
Pope John Paul II visited the church that September, although Hirsch volunteered in a Namao field, “in the freezing cold,” where another service was held. Widely credited for playing a role in the downfall of Communism, the Polish pontiff will be named a saint in April.
On July 16, 1988, a packed house watched Janet Jones walk down the aisle in a $40,000 dress to wed Wayne Gretzky. The Edmonton Oilers star would be dispatched to the Los Angeles Kings a month later.
The church boasts an eclectic assortment of art and artifacts, Hirsch said. The Casavant Frères of Quebec supplied the organ, while 60 stained-glass windows were designed by Munich-based Franz Mayer and Co.
The most recent addition was completed in December and dedicated Thursday. Created by New Zealand artist Michael Pervan, a new mosaic depicts a lamb, the symbol of Jesus in the book of Revelation.
“You look at all these artifacts that have come from so many different parts of the world,” Hirsch said. “I think that speaks volumes to how community gets built in the church.”